Unsanctioned
by templeofsyrinx
Summary: An original FFXIV story, following a Garlean commander throughout the events of the Seventh Umbral Era.


Written upon a crumpled memoir...

_I can't remember the date now. It could have been ten, no. Twenty moons since my last dosage. The moon is currently waxing gibbous. Air is moderately nippy. Not quite winter yet._

_The memory flashes are getting worse. I hardly remember how I got here._

_I can still see father's face the night we were taken. The smell of burning cloth and leathers. The deafening bark of Magitek cannon fire and the clattering of steel on steel. It all blurs together into one violent symphony. Do not forget this._

The above paragraph is written in a hasty, rehearsed penmanship, almost as if from muscle memory.

"_You will be different," they said. "Our very finest."_

_It's all a haze after that. Did it any of it even really happen? I am having a hard time distinguishing fact from fiction. Another dosage would help... or maybe I just need more sleep. I'm close. So close to perfecting the formulae. But with this feeling, it just seems like one step forward and two steps back._

_You. You must remember why you are here. I pray these pages do not become incomprehensible gibberish soon enough. Keep working. The formula will be perfected soon enough. Stay close to your allies._

_Upon the next full moon is when our contact is set to meet us once again. Don't forget this time. We might only have one shot at this._

The journal entry ends after that, the page seeming discolored and tarnished. Dust stains the page. It is clear it has been sitting in a desk for well over the course of a year.

….

Prologue

Location: Carteneau Plains, Camp Dawnridge, Mor Dhona

Time: 0325

Date: 1572 of the Sixth Astral Era, Hours before The Calamity

Subject Name: Placidia quo Astralia, "Astra"

Designation: 7th Hand, XVIIth Legion

Subject Status: Expendable

The roaring of Magitek machinery echoed through the night sky as Astra stepped out from her tent. The two sentries stood in front of her door immediately hurried to attention before being dismissed by a nonchalant, gauntleted hand.

"As you were, Legionarius." Astra spoke calmly, a gust of air blowing her ashen hair forwards as various Magitek siege weapons come to life. The soldier nods, relaxing his posture. "How goes the preparations?"

"Everything is proceeding smoothly, ma'am. The savages won't know what hit them. High Command fully expects this to be over by dawn." A confident smile cracked along the sentry's face, quickly fading upon being met by Astra's eyes.

"_Savages?" _The Auri Centurio thought to herself, her eyes moving from the sentry's over to the war machines being prepared amongst the campgrounds. _"So that's all that they're telling the conscripts, now." _Talk of Darnus himself taking to the field, as well as a mysterious Imperial superweapon being in close disposal, did well to bolster her unit's morale. Being amongst such legends was all it took to inspire the recruits, it seemed. _"Inspiration, or complacency." _

She brought her eyes back to the soldier's, folding her arms across her chest. "Right then. Carry on. See to it that I am informed of any changes."

The soldier gave Astra a sharp salute of acknowledgment, pinning his gloved fist to his chest. The Centurio nodded, stepping off from her tent over to inspect the campgrounds. Ranks of Magitek reapers stood ready upon the perimeter, all being dutifully maintained to by their pilots.

Beyond them, the bulk of the XVIIth Legion sat anxiously around fires, gambling tables and mess tents, each of them doing their best to calm their minds before the coming storm. Their armor was battered and makeshift, a stark difference to the proud onyx Astra was used to seeing amongst her fellow officers._ "Seems Imperial propaganda about the battle doesn't always fall upon listening ears." _Astra thought to herself, doing her best to keep a comfortable distance from the nervous conscripts. _"Not weeks after picking up a spear and the Empire has this lot ordered to the frontlines. They must be getting desperate." _

A twang of anxiety rushed through Astra's body upon the thought, a mental signal that it was time to indulge her vice. She reached into her side satchel, drawing a neatly rolled cigar from within, igniting it between her lips. It had been only a few months since the woman was tasked with whipping the squadron of recruits into battle-ready shape, but she feared nothing could prepare them for the coming campaign.

Astra let out a slow, smoky exhale, ashing her cigar into the dull breeze. She had just hoped the bulkhead of the Imperial force, the fanciful VIIth Legion, was enough to carry the fight in their favor. With any luck-

"My lady!" A hurried yell sounded off from behind her, causing Astra's head to snap backward. "The Eorzeans have begun their assault! We-!" Suddenly, a violent, thunderous eruption of flaming aetheric energies burst from behind the pair, sending the conscript flying forwards and onto his knees. The vibration was almost enough to dislocate every joint in the Auri's body, the overwhelming force of the blast causing her horns to rattle against her head. Anything she could have hoped to hear was now replaced with a low, buzzing hum, her vision unfocused and darkening.

Adrenalin coursed through the Xaela as she got back to her feet, looking down at the conscript that was standing before her only moments before. His body was dismembered and disjointed, any open injuries having been instantaneously cauterized by the blast. His eyes and mouth lay agape, and his blacked body lay motionless in the dirt. Again - More aetheric volleys slammed against the campground, laying waste to the rows of unprepared Reapers that were once resting along the perimeter.

Pilots hurried away from the blast sites in desperation before the hot, humid air was now replaced by a chilling burst, freezing the fleeing Garleans in their tracks. Desperately, they tried to chip away at the ice as it encroached up their bodies - until before long they were completely frozen, and then shattered away.

Astra looked up at the night sky, now lit brightly by the exchange of black magic and Magitek cannon fire. The once starlit sky was brought to life, constellations indistinguishable from the bright, exchanging volleys of energy.

Before long, the Xaela's senses returned to her. _"Rally up! Close ranks!" _She barked in a commanding shout, a gloved hand reaching to her back, bringing the gunblade settled upon it to life. But her command came too late; Any hope of a formation her unit could have hoped to muster was now completely shattered by the sudden bombardment. Astra's eyes watched in horror as the XVIIth Legion lay completely routed, once hopeful faced recruits now abandoning their arms and fleeing the scene in horror. Another wave of aetheric flame soared above her, and then – as quickly as the battle began – everything returned to darkness.


End file.
